The inhabitants of planet Earth can see an unusual scene in the sky during the coming days, as a green comet passes through Ato outer space Earth’s oceans for the first time in regarding 50,000 years.
She said US space agency (NASA): “The comet named C / 2022 E3 (ZTF) was first spotted in March 2022, while it was still in a location close to Jupiter, and it is likely to travel hundreds of billions of miles to reach the inner solar system.”
NASA also confirmed that the green comet was at its closest point to the sun last Thursday, January 12, 2023, and will be at its closest point to Earth on February 2, 2023.
Experts say if the comet returns once more, it won’t be for 50,000 years. Here’s everything you need to know regarding witnessing this once-in-a-lifetime event:
When do you see the green comet and how?
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The comet can be seen through simple binoculars and telescopes, and it looks like a bright green ball to the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere.
For the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere; The green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be visible in the predawn sky with binoculars or a small telescope throughout January, while people in the Southern Hemisphere can see the comet at the beginning of February, according to NASA.
To get the best view of the comet, you must find a dark sky far from city lights, as it is in the clear skies of the desert that you can take amazing pictures of the comet.
indicate reports Space.com indicates that the comet’s halo has a distinctive green color in photographs due to its chemical composition, as the green color indicates the presence of diatomic carbon.
Can a comet be seen with the naked eye?
Depending on viewing conditions and the comet’s brightness, it may be visible to the naked eye in a clear sky.
And he has she declared NASA in its January 2023 issue: “Comets are known to be unpredictable, but if this comet continues its current direction of brightness, it will be easy to detect with binoculars, and it is possible that it will become visible to the naked eye under the dark sky.”
How can you follow the comet’s movement online?
If you want to monitor the movements of the green comet, you can use the website (TheSkyLive) which provides a 3D visualization of the solar system updated in real time, and through the site you can also change the time and date to show the location of the comet at a specific point in the past or future.
In addition to the 3D visualization of the comet; (TheSkyLive) provides a lot of additional information related to the current state of the comet, for example: the site shows how far the comet is from Earth, where it appears in the sky, and how its position will change over the coming days.
Why is this comet green and where does it come from?
Comets are astronomical bodies made up of frozen gas, dust, and rock that orbit the sun, sometimes referred to as cosmic snowballs, ranging in diameter from a few miles to tens of miles.
Comets freeze but warm as they approach the sun and begin to spew out gases and dust particles, creating a large glow around the head called a coma, and forming a tail millions of miles long.
The color of this comet comes from its molecular composition, as it contains diatomic carbon molecules, chemical compounds with two carbon atoms attached, and a compound (cyanogen), and these compounds glow green when exposed to sunlight.
Says experts The comet most likely originated from a cloud OortOort – sometimes described as a cometary reservoir – is the most distant region in our solar system and is described by NASA as “a huge spherical layer surrounding our sun made up of icy chunks of space debris the size of mountains and sometimes larger.”
NASA says: “Most known long-period comets have only been seen once in recorded history because their orbital periods are very long, so there are countless unknown long-period comets that have never been seen by human eyes, because some of them have orbits so long that the last time they passed Across the inner solar system, our species did not yet exist.
Will Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Return Again?
The comet’s flight path following passing through the inner solar system is still unknown, but do not expect to see it from the Earth’s sky once more in your life, as the comet takes regarding 50 thousand years to complete its orbit around the sun, so it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
